Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf rumoured to be mulling move to New Mexico |

The Shah of Iran went to Italy. Benazir Bhutto went to London. Now that Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has resigned to ride out his country's political storm, could he be headed to New Mexico?

The famously laid-back US state, where former UN ambassador Bill Richardson serves as governor, is a most unlikely destination for the former Pakistani army chief. But Shuja Nawaz, a veteran Pakistani journalist and former International Monetary Fund official, said yesterday that Musharraf may head to the American west.

"This is my understanding, based on conversations with people in Pakistan, that he's likely … to leave the country, and that a possible immediate destination may be Dubai, and then eventually may be New Mexico in the United States," Nawaz told the PBS NewsHour programme yesterday.

If Musharraf does settle in Richardson's state, it would signify a marked détente between the two men. Richardson, who was America's UN representative under Bill Clinton, called Musharraf a "terrorist" during a January TV appearance - before correcting his characterisation to "tyrant" - and called for the Pakistani's resignation in late 2007.

A US state department spokesman told reporters today that Musharraf has so far not asked for asylum in America but added that the resigned president "has a right to live wherever he wants".

Comments

Now that's a little strange. I would have thought that one carpetbagger would welcome another with open arms.
Maybe our Billy doesn't understand they are brothers. Or somethings.
After all, neither of them seems to understand monetary wisdom, spends more time away from the seat of power than being present and both look pretty funny with beards.
Lots of common ground there, seems to me.